Angels End a Sad Day With Happy Moment

You can always tell when Angel utility player Rex Hudler is in the starting lineup--if he’s so excited he’s practically bouncing off clubhouse walls a good three hours before the game, it’s usually a clear giveaway.

But when Hudler got to Anaheim Stadium and saw his name penciled into the center-field spot for Friday night’s game against the Detroit Tigers, he merely walked grim-faced to his locker and got dressed.

“I’m having a hard time getting up for this game, to be honest with you,” said Hudler, who was among the teary-eyed hundreds at Friday morning’s memorial service for Michelle Carew. “I’ve never been through anything like today. It was very sobering.”

The Angels somehow found the strength to defeat the Tigers, 4-3, Friday night when Don Slaught singled home pinch-runner Dick Schofield from second in the bottom of the ninth inning to break a 3-3 tie and spark an arousing, but brief, postgame celebration before a crowd of 32,693.

Mark Langston threw a complete-game seven-hitter with five strikeouts, the Angel infield backed him with three double plays, and the bench came through with another productive night, as Tim Wallach homered for the 250th time in his career in the fourth and drove in another run with a single in the sixth.

J.T. Snow started the ninth-inning rally with a single and Garret Anderson bunted him to second. Schofield came on to run for Snow, and Tiger reliever Mike Myers intentionally walked George Arias.

Slaught grounded a single up the middle, and it appeared Detroit center fielder Chad Curtis would have a play on Schofield, but his throw was well up the third-base line, and Schofield scored standing up.

“I had one of the saddest days I’ve ever had in my life,” Langston said, “and ended it with the smallest piece of joy.”

The victory was the Angels’ fourth in their final at-bat this season and extended their win streak to three, but sadness was the overwhelming emotion of the day.

It was difficult for the Angels to think about baseball on a day their designated hitter, Chili Davis, and a former teammate, Rene Gonzales, were pall-bearers for the 18-year-old daughter of their batting instructor, Rod Carew.

Carew told a crowd of mourners that the thing he’d miss most about Michelle, who died Wednesday after a seven-month battle against leukemia, was hearing her say, “I love you, Daddy.”

Said Angel shortstop Gary DiSarcina: “As a father you can relate to what he was saying. And when Stephanie [Carew’s 20-year-old daughter] said she was so sorry that her parents had to bury their child . . . well, that was like a swift kick to the stomach.”

Before batting practice, the Angels huddled together in the outfield and observed a moment of silence, for Michelle Carew and the Oklahoma City bombing victims.

“Rod is more than a coach, he’s our family,” Hudler said. “Losing Michelle was like having a family member pass away. But we’re happy she’s through suffering, and that she made quite a mark in her 18 years.”

After the memorial service, Manager Marcel Lachemann and numerous players visited the Carew family at their Anaheim Hills home.

“Things were a lot more calm, a lot more peaceful there,” Lachemann said. “There were a lot of tears at the service, but at the house it seemed more like a celebration of Michelle’s life, rather than the service, which seemed to be more grief at her passing away.

“It’s going to take time to get over this, but I think the guys are handling it very well.”